As a child I remember marveling at the story of the Lord's birth and being interested in connecting the stories of Christmas and Easter.  As an adult, although society seems to give Christmas a greater degree of attention, I have come to esteem the Easter season (with it's promise of new life on the other side of temptation) at least as much.

As I was reflecting on these things, I was delighted to discover an article by the Rev. David Simons (the only one quite like it that I have found) connecting the two stories in their spiritual message.  May it inspire in you an equal appreciation (inside and out) for this special time of year!

Love and Peace,

Ethan

The Christmas and Easter stories are closely linked together. They have their similarities and their differences. These things are important to know, think about and carefully compare. For they are not written by accident. They are no mere coincidence. But, like everything else in the Word, they have an inner purpose. 

They are provided to teach us something special. Every detail in these stories has a spiritual meaning. Every likeness and every distinction is given to teach us something, first of all, about the Lord and secondly about ourselves-about how [we are] to be born again.

Mary, the mother of the Lord, means our love of natural truth called curiosity. Every baby is born with this thirst for knowledge. Everyone as children are interested in finding out as much as you can about things. And this is important for it leads you to be interested in the truths of the Lord's Word, in taking them into your minds, and in remembering them. It makes it possible for the Lord to be born into your minds.

Then comes Mary Magdalene. This is the love of truth; not just from curiosity and interest, but the love of truth for truth's sake-to see [where we have departed from the Lord’s way, and how we may we called out]. This new love can come to our minds when we learn to bow in humility before the Lord with the sweet spices of genuine worship and gratitude for His spiritual care of our lives. This love of truth for its own sake opens our minds to see the Lord spiritually, to see His love and His wisdom, His providence looking after all people, and leading all to heaven who are willing to follow.

 In the Christmas story the Lord was born into Joseph's household, since Joseph corresponds to the good of innocence-the innocence of ignorance from which children willingly follow and obey their parents, their teachers and the Lord.

But this good must become the good of conscience. It must become wise. It must, like Joseph of Arimathea, become wealthy in truths, wise in justice, and above all, brave-willing to stand up for what is right, no matter what the consequences. For in this way, and in this way only, can we become true disciples of the Lord.

And when both the Christmas and the Easter story take place spiritually in us, when our affection for knowledge brings the truths of the Word into our minds and when we come to love these truths by using them to fight and overcome our evils, and when our innocent willingness to obey the Lord is strengthened by wisdom into a [spiritual] conscience, then both the swaddling clothes, which are the first simple truths our minds can understand, and the grave clothes, which are the outer truths of the letter of the Word, will be replaced by a deeper sight of truth, an internal acknowledgment of the risen Lord Jesus.